


Things that go Bump in the Night

by spowell Count Dracula series (SPowell)



Series: Count Dracula [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Humiliation, M/M, Mystery, OOC, Torture, Undead, Vampires, Whipping, blood-sucking, dark!fic, dub-con, elements of master/slave, enslavement, evil!Merlin, non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-01
Updated: 2014-12-01
Packaged: 2018-02-27 17:21:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2701055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SPowell/pseuds/spowell%20Count%20Dracula%20series
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur begins to explore. The Count introduces Arthur to Cenred.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things that go Bump in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> I fixed a few problems with the last entry--repeated words, etc. Sorry about that. Unbetaed. Please continue to heed the warnings. Some may be added.

The castle was quiet, only the ticking of the clock joined Arthur’s footsteps on the stone floor. It seemed the Count was out, although where he would go in the middle of the night, Arthur couldn’t imagine.

Arthur stood in the foyer, undecided. He should go to bed, but he was restless. His groin ached, and a strange vision of the Count on his knees before him sent a shiver down Arthur’s spine as well as a hot flash of desire to his senses.

On impulse, Arthur went to the heavy front door and pulled it open. Immediately, a snarling, drooling, black wolf, teeth bared, leaped into the doorway, causing Arthur to fall back in alarm. The animal didn’t cross the threshold, but it was obvious that Arthur wouldn’t be able to cross it either. For one frozen moment, Arthur stared into the crazed eyes of the wolf before slamming the door shut on it.

He leaned back on the wall, breathing hard. What was going on here? Arthur concluded that he should finish his business with the Count as soon as possible and leave this place.

Loud pounding noises, followed by a shout, came from above. Arthur stared at the ceiling, a chill enveloping his body. Pushing away from the wall, he headed for the stairs in a rush, afraid that if he hesitated, he’d lose his nerve. Feet pounding on stone, Arthur raced around three curves in the staircase before another series of pounds followed a desperate moan sounded to his left, and he zeroed in on his destination.

Arthur was almost to the end of the hall when a calm, cold voice behind him halted his steps.

“Arthur.”

Arthur swung around. The Count stood at the head of the stairs. He was dressed completely in black, with a dark cloak slung about his shoulders.

“Come down and meet my guest.”

Arthur moved toward him as though hypnotised. Indeed, he’d forgotten what he’d been so intent upon doing just a moment before.

As Arthur descended the stairs, he thought he heard the faint laughter of a woman from behind him.

When they reached the parlour, a fire roared in the grate and a tall, dark-headed man with a closely cropped beard stood before it, warming his hands.

“Arthur, this is Cenred Lupei.”

“How do you do.” Arthur extended his hand, but the other man ignored it and simply bowed. His eyes were dark, cold, and calculating. Arthur thought they looked oddly familiar.

“Cenred and I were just having a chat about my new London home,” the Count told Arthur.

The three men took seats close to the fire. Arthur could feel the warmth of it on his ankles. He looked to the Count, and found him staring, eyes intense. It made Arthur ache, specifically in his neck and groin.

He cleared his throat. “I thought that perhaps we could conclude our business tomorrow. I really should be heading home.”

The Count raised a brow. “Are you in a rush?”

“Well, I do have a fiancée waiting for me.”

“A fiancée.” Dracula’s mouth turned down.

“Yes.”

“Are you in love, Arthur?” The Count spoke the words softly, and Arthur shifted in his seat.

Cenred stared balefully at him.

“I…er…this marriage has been arranged since my birth. She is a lovely, well-brought-up woman. We are suited.”

“I see.” A muscle in Dracula’s jaw twitched.

“I can have all the papers ready for you to sign on the morrow,” Arthur said.

“Indeed.” The Count’s gaze never wavered, and Arthur began to fidget under its intensity.

“What is it that you do, Mr. Lupei?” he finally asked.

Cenred’s dark eyes flashed. “I help the Count Dracula.”

“Oh, in what way?”

“In every way.”

Uncomfortable silence, at least on Arthur’s part, reigned in the room for long moments, only the sudden crackling of the fire in the grate interrupting it. The Count’s eyes never left Arthur, and if Arthur hadn’t known it would be exceedingly rude, he would have gotten up and announced he would go to bed.

Finally, the Count turned to Cenred.

“We will speak more tomorrow.”

Cenred nodded, stood, and left the room. Arthur heard the front door creak open and shut firmly, and a moment later, the howl of a wolf.

“It pains me to hear that you want to leave before the allotted fortnight is out,” the Count said, blue eyes sparking in the light of the fire.

“I—as I said, my fiancée…”

“Enough about that,” Dracula snapped. He stood, coming to stand behind Arthur. Arthur’s neck tingled, even before the Count touched him there. Immediately, Arthur’s limbs loosened, and he sank back into the cushions of the chair.

Another howl in the distance drew Arthur’s eyes to the window where the first rays of sun peaked over the mountains. The fingers left his neck.

“I will see you after a good sleep, Arthur.”

Then the Count was gone.

As Arthur stood to leave the room, his eyes were drawn to the fire where a bit of paper curled at the edge. He leaned closer to look, a vague feeling of unease quickly mounting to dread.

There was no mistaking it—it was the letter he’d given the Count to mail. The fire hissed and spit as a log dislodged, falling to the side and consuming the rest of the letter in flames.

 


End file.
